Eight projects worth $4,072,345 in Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds are moving toward construction after Brookline's CPA Committee met Monday, July 13 to execute the FY2027 grant agreements. Town Meeting approved the full slate under Article 9 on Tuesday, May 26, and the July 13 session was the administrative step to finalize contracts with grant recipients.
A recording of the meeting was posted to Civic Brookline on Sunday, July 20.
The money comes from the 1 percent CPA surcharge on all Brookline property tax bills. Brookline voters adopted the surcharge in May 2021.
Housing: $1.98 million
The largest single grant, $1,178,630, goes to the Brookline Housing Authority for roof replacement at Trustman Apartments, a three-building, 86-unit complex serving low-income families. State High Leverage Asset Preservation Program (HILAPP) funds will match the grant.
A second BHA grant of $398,317 covers window replacement at High Street Veterans Apartments, a 177-unit complex where the windows have reached the end of their service life. The Housing Advisory Board's Affordable Housing Trust received $400,000 for flexible housing creation and preservation outside the Town Meeting cycle.
Historic preservation: $1.67 million
United Parish in Brookline receives $800,000 to restore its steeple tower, originally constructed in 1873 and rebuilt in 1927. Cracking and spalling stone forced closure of the sanctuary entrance and silenced the carillon bells. About 1,500 people use the building weekly, including the Brookline Food Pantry.
The Old Burying Ground on Walnut Street, Brookline's first cemetery dating to 1717, receives $865,398 to finish restoring the Central Avenue tombs. The town completed half that work in 2014.
Open space: $430,000
Larz Anderson Park gets $375,000 for a green infrastructure study focused on stormwater management between the Auto Museum hillside and the lagoon near Avon Street and Goddard Avenue. The study will produce construction documents for future bidding and permitting. Smaller grants fund tree inventories at playgrounds including Waldstein, Soule, and Harry Downes ($35,000) and invasive species management at D. Blakely Hoar Sanctuary ($20,000).
Matching funds multiply local dollars
CPAC Chair Nancy Heller said in the Brookline Record's July 10 preview of the meeting that the program's local dollars have "attracted almost $16 million in matching funds, either from the state or from nonprofits." Town records confirm the scale: since adoption, Brookline has funded 37 CPA projects totaling $16.5 million in surcharge revenue, leveraging $15.9 million in outside funding for a combined $32.5 million reinvested in the community.
What's next
The FY2028 funding cycle is open. Applicants must submit an Eligibility Determination Form by Friday, July 31. Full applications are accepted by invitation from Tuesday, August 18 through Sunday, October 18. The CPAC will present FY2028 recommendations to Town Meeting in May 2027.
